Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card

OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA

INTRODUCTION

The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously. Based on the recommendation of the High Level committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) commonly known as ‘dual citizenship’.

A foreign national, who was eligible to become citizen of India on 26.01.1950 or was a citizen of India on or at any time after 26.01.1950 or belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15.08.1947 and his/her children and grand children, provided his/her country of citizenship allows dual citizenship in some form or other under the local laws, is eligible for registration as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI). Minor children of such persons are also eligible for OCI. However, if the applicant had ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, he/she will not be eligible for OCI.

Persons registered as OCI have not been given any voting rights, election to Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha/Legislative Assembly/Council, holding Constitutional posts such as President, Vice President, Judge of Supreme Court/High Court etc. Registered OCI Card holders shall be entitled to following benefits:

(i) Multiple entry, multi-purpose life long visa to visit India;(ii) Exemption from reporting to Police authorities for any length of stay in India; and(iii) Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

Any further benefits to OCIs will be notified by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) under section 7B(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

A person registered as OCI is eligible to apply for grant of Indian citizenship under section 5(1)(g) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 if he/she is registered as OCI for five years and has been residing in India for one year out of the five years before making the application.

Eligibility:

The eligibility for the issue of OCI card to an applicant is as follows:

(a) Any person of full age and capacity,

Who is a citizen of another country, but was a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after, the commencement of the Constitution i.e. 26th January 1950; or

Who is a citizen of another country, but was eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of the commencement of the Constitution i.e. 26th January 1950; or

Who is a citizen of another country, but belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947; or

Who is a child or a grand-child or a great grand-child of such a citizen; or

(b) A person, who is a minor child of a person mentioned in the clause (a) above (i-iv); or

(c) A person, who is a minor child, and whose both parents are citizens of India; or one of the parents is a citizen of India; or

(d) Spouse offoreign origin of a citizen of India and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application under this section; or

(f) Spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder registered under section 7A and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application under this section.

Note: Such spouse shall be subjected to prior security clearance from a competent authority in India:

Re-issue of OCI Card:

(a) 20 years of age or younger:

OCI registration certificate must be RE-ISSUED EACH TIME A NEW PASSPORT is issued up to the completion of 20 years of age in view of biological changes in face of the OCI card holder.

(b) 21 to 49 years of age:

Re-issue of OCI registration certificate and 'U' Visa is NOT mandatory, each time a new passport is issued between 21-49 years of age. However, if the applicant wishes to avail this service, he/she can request re-issue of OCI document to update the new passport number. It is also sufficient if the cardholder carries the OCI registration Certificate and the current valid passport while travelling to India.

(c) 50 years of age or older:

For existing OCI registration certificate holders who had their documents issued before 50 years of age OCI documents must be re-issued ONCE after the issuance of a new passport after completing 50 years of age in view of biological changes in face of the OCI card holder.

If the OCI card is issued for the first time after the age of 50 years, then there is no need for re-issuance of OCI card. It is also sufficient if the cardholder carries the OCI registration certificate and the current valid passport while travelling to India.

Application Procedure:

Visit http://www.passport.gov.in/oci/welcome to apply online for OCI Registration. Applicants must submit the complete application online, including uploading copies of all the required documents (Passport, Birth Certificate and all relevant documents), photographs and signature.

Signed printouts of completed online application must be submitted to the High Commission of India, Victoria along with the self attested copies and originals of all the documents uploaded. The original documents will be verified by the High Commission and returned to the applicant. To be eligible to apply to High Commission of India, Victoria, you need to be a resident of Seychelles.

Please note that scanned copies of supporting documents i.e. Passport, Birth Certificate, Indian Origin Proof, etc. need to be uploaded in PDF format when completing the online application. Similarly, the applicant's Photograph and Signature need to be uploaded in .jpg format while competing the online application

Photograph to be affixed on the application should be of square shape of size not less than 51 x 51mm (with 80% coverage by face). It should have light color background (not white) without border with front view of person’s head and shoulders showing the full face in the middle of the photograph. It should not be stapled and should not have any signature. Photographs that do not conform to these standards will be rejected and may cause a delay in processing the applications. Please see standards of acceptable photographs as Photo Link .

If there are any objections while processing the applications, the same will be conveyed to the applicant either through email or telephone. In certain occasions, an interview may become necessary. This would be conveyed to the applicant by any of the methods mentioned above.